by Tasha Black
Raven Song
Shifters Bewitched #4
Tasha Black
13th Story Press
Copyright © 2021 by 13th Story Press
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
13th Story Press
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Swarthmore, PA 19081
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Cover by Natasha Snow of Natasha Snow Designs.
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Contents
About Raven Song
Raven Song
1. Anya
2. Anya
3. The Raven King
4. Anya
5. The Raven King
6. Anya
7. Anya
8. Anya
9. The Raven King
10. Anya
11. The Raven King
12. Anya
13. The Raven King
14. Anya
15. Anya
16. Anya
17. The Raven King
18. The Raven King
19. Anya
20. Anya
21. Anya
22. Anya
23. Anya
24. The Raven King
25. Anya
26. Anya
27. The Raven King
28. Anya
29. Anya
30. The Raven King
31. Anya
32. The Raven King
33. Anya
34. Anya
35. The Raven King
36. Anya
37. Anya
King of Midnight (Sample)
1. Sara
2. Dorian
3. Sara
Tasha Black Starter Library
About the Author
One Percent Club
About Raven Song
Magic has ruined my life more times than I can count.
The “strange things” that happened when I was a kid managed to shuffle me from one foster home to the next. I was lost, until Headmistress Hart found me. The stern, big-hearted woman in the flowing robes brought me straight to Primrose Academy, where magic was not only accepted, but the subject of passionate study for every woman there. I finally had a place to call home.
But I’m different from the other Primrose witches.
My friends and professors at Primrose Academy work diligently for every breath of magic they possess. For them, power always comes at a price. But there is no price for my magic. Power flows through me like water from a tap, and the only hard part is turning it off. I struggle every day not to let it show, but the truth is getting harder to hide.
And while lying about the source of my magic might make me lose my friends one day, telling the truth could mean I lose my place at the only home I’ve ever known.
But then the Raven King descends on our world, flooding our side of the veil with his strange, fae magic. And when he sees me, really sees me, I feel a pull like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Suddenly, my own problems seem small in comparison to the threat he poses. And I know I can’t hide my power any longer.
I’m sure I have a part to play in this. I might even be able to save us all, if I could only stop dreaming about the Raven King’s pale eyes…
Shifters Bewitched is a brand-new Paranormal Romance series from USA Bestselling Author Tasha Black. Be sure to read them all:
Wolf Spell
Bear Charm
Panther Curse
Raven Song
Raven Song
1
Anya
In the dream, I took a tentative step out of the manicured boxwood labyrinth, past the protective wards that surrounded Primrose Academy, and into the wilds of the dark forest.
If the warlocks had their way, there would soon be war between our world and the one beyond the veil. It wasn’t a good idea to wander the woods alone. But something in the forest at the edge of the academy’s grounds called to me - a call that I found impossible to ignore.
I was desperate for the peace I hadn’t been able to find since laying eyes on the Raven King for the very first time.
His dark beauty had been somehow familiar to me as we stood before the portal, staring each other down. But I wasn’t sure why.
It had only lasted an instant, but his pale eyes seemed to see into my soul, like he saw something in me no one else ever had. And now my chest felt like it was caving in on itself every time I thought of him.
My dream-self took a few more steps into the woods and the world around me shifted. The trees faded backward, and the dark forest melted into a sunlit meadow with snowflakes drifting lazily to the ground.
No, not snowflakes. Flower petals of the palest pink.
It was winter, there shouldn’t be flowers blooming in Pennsylvania. But the dream-logic didn’t care, and the knowledge that it was a dream didn’t make it feel any less real. The soft grass tickled my feet, and the scent of the flowers was so sweet that I could almost taste them.
More trees lined the meadow, bristling with blossoms in colors that didn’t even have names in the real world. Their beauty was so exquisite that it almost hurt to look at them.
A dragonfly buzzed past, so close it nearly caught in my hair.
I turned to admire its iridescent body, only to realize that it wasn’t a dragonfly at all. A tiny person, with shivering green skin, translucent wings, and flaxen hair, met my eyes and let out a small squeal as it flew past.
Startled, I paused and took a deep breath.
But the meadow continued to pull at my soul, and I had to step further into this strange new world, inhaling the floral bouquet and searching for more magical creatures.
Movement in my periphery caught my eye. At first, I thought one of the trees was moving.
Then a tall deer with flowering branches for antlers stepped into the meadow and observed me solemnly with limpid purple eyes.
I opened my mouth to call to it, but no sound came out, and the shy creature leapt away on slender legs that seemed to defy gravity.
I followed it with my eyes until it disappeared, then walked on, drawn by something between two of the largest trees.
The sound of a shallow stream giggling over timeworn stones carried to me on the breeze, along with the scent of the sweet, clear water.
Thirst suddenly sucked at my bones, and I moved faster, eager to quench myself.
Just beyond the flowering trees, the stream sparkled, crystal clear, exactly as I imagined it.
I bent and lifted a handful to my lips, wolfing down the diamond bright libation.
A sense of peace settled over me like a blanket and I stood, nearly sated, but not quite. My thirst was gone, but my chest still felt like it was being sucked inward, like I would disappear if I didn’t get the one thing I truly needed.
Anya.
He didn’t say my name, not out loud. But I heard it as if he had spoken it inside my head. I knew as I turned that I would wind up face to face with the Raven King.
He gazed at me, unblinking, like before. His pale eyes tore me open, and I watched my meaningless life spill out at his feet.
I saw a long succession of foster homes, where strange things happened around me, and I got packed up again and again, my hand-me-
downs stuffed in a half-empty garbage bag to start over with the next set of call-us-mom-and-dads.
I saw the letter from Primrose, the embossed golden logo pristine, but the edges of the envelope grayed from my nervous hands toying with it, longing for a place where I could be like everyone else.
And then I saw my friends, pairing off with shifter guardians, each of them willing to pay a terrible price for her magic.
But my magic never had a price.
Even in a school for witches, I was a dangerous freak. It was only a matter of time before they found me out. I already could see my school colors tangled in on each other at the bottom of another garbage bag.
Then something changed, and I saw the things that made me happy, my adopted winter ravens flying in the sunset over Primrose Castle, a mug of peppermint tea, my friends laughing as we did our homework, the pale blue eyes of the Raven King…
He stepped closer, the breeze strengthening, lifting his dark hair to swirl around his shoulders while the air surrounding him shimmered with untold power.
I waited, breathless, as he extended his hand to cup my cheek.
The pleasure of his touch flashed through me like lightning, followed by thundering desire. I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted the Raven King to kiss me.
He leaned close, fixing me with those haunted eyes.
Yearning licked my insides like flames, and I moaned, not caring what he thought of me, as long as he touched me.
But then the breeze changed again.
And the Raven King paused, a faraway look in his eyes.
No, I tried to whisper, but I had no voice in this place.
I watched helplessly as he faded into nothing, leaving me alone by the stream once more, my chest folding in around the emptiness inside me.
The breeze picked up swiftly, turning to a gale, and I found myself being pulled between the trees without my feet touching the ground.
Color was being sucked out of the world. First the grass faded to gray, and then the trees, until at last even the vibrant flowers were black and white. I looked down at myself, but I was shades of gray too, as if I were in a pencil sketch, or an antique photograph.
A familiar chime sounded from far way, followed by the flutter of wings.
Something landed on my stomach and the last of the dream slipped away.
I opened my eyes to find myself alone in my dorm room, my morning alarm sounding as one of my winter ravens, Calvin, stood self-importantly on my belly. He fluffed out his feathers and gazed at me with what felt like genuine concern in his dark eyes.
“Hey,” I said, my voice rough from sleep.
Hobbes fluttered down from his post on the curtain rod and landed on the footboard of the bed.
“I know, you guys really hate the sound of my alarm,” I said sympathetically, reaching over to shut it off.
Hobbes hopped onto the blanket the moment the sound stopped, and waddled over to me in an undignified way, bending his head down so that I could rub the ticklish spot on the back of his neck.
“There you go,” I whispered.
He made a low warbling sound in reply.
Calvin still gazed at me.
“I know, I know,” I told him. “It’s been kind of a weird couple of days.
It still felt odd to wake up without Kendall in the bed on the opposite wall from mine. My former roommate had always been a restless sleeper. I chalked it up to her days playing sports. Her body probably didn’t know what to do without an extreme physical outlet.
Most mornings, I slipped out of bed and woke her up carefully, like a keeper rousing a bear from hibernation. Her grumpiness was pretty hilarious.
But she was living with Jared now. Which meant I didn’t have to wake her up. And it also meant that I had an extra five minutes I didn’t really know what to do with.
I gathered up my stuff for my shower, telling myself it would be great to be able to take my time.
But the truth was, I was lonely for my formidable roommate. Kendall’s larger than life personality had saved me from a lot of introspection.
Back on my bed, Calvin and Hobbes scolded each other over some imagined slight.
At least I still had the two winter ravens. Though honestly, they belonged to each other first.
“Back in a minute, boys,” I told them.
But they ignored me in favor of tussling over a button that I was pretty sure didn’t belong on any of my clothes.
Even the birds had more going on than I did.
“Shake it off, Anya,” I muttered, heading for the showers.
I reminded myself that as long as I had good friends, and a roof over my head. Nothing else mattered.
All I had to do was get through the day without thinking too much about the Order, the hollow feeling in my chest, or my dreams of the Raven King.
No problem.
2
Anya
The cafeteria was in full swing. Say what you wanted about witches, but they did know how to eat. There was nothing like studying magic to whet the appetite. No one skipped breakfast at Primrose.
I stood in line with Calvin and Hobbes on my shoulders, and chose my usual meal of waffles drowning in whipped cream, fruit, and maple syrup.
“Another healthy meal,” Kendall shouted in a friendly way from the end of our usual table. Jared’s arm was slung possessively around her shoulder.
I grinned at her and rolled my eyes.
My friends loved to joke about my sweet tooth. I was five feet tall in shoes and whippet-thin, but my metabolism kept me craving the carbs everyone else pretended to avoid. I had no shame about it. Sweets were delicious and made to be enjoyed.
I took a spot at the end of the table. Kendall and Jared were snuggled together at the other end.
To my right, Cori watched Reed eat a gargantuan bite of biscuits and gravy.
To my left, Luke and Bella were arguing quietly.
“I’m eating for two, Luke, not for twenty,” she said gently, pushing away his hand, which was trying to deposit about ten slices of bacon on her plate.
“You don’t know how many you’re eating for,” he retorted.
Her eyes went wide.
“No more than two or three, I promise,” he assured her, chuckling.
Reed looked across the table at Bella’s face and roared with laughter.
“You shouldn’t joke with her like that,” Cori said firmly, which only made Reed laugh harder.
Kendall only looked down studiously at her empty plate. I saw Jared slide a hand between her shoulder blades to comfort her. She looked up at him and smiled a genuine smile.
She had given up her magic to save his life. She would never be able to give him a shifter child, like the one Bella and Luke were expecting.
But Jared didn’t care. You couldn’t be around the two of them without seeing the love that radiated from their pores. It almost hurt too much to look. Almost.
“You okay?” Kendall asked me.
“Yeah, of course,” I said, shaking my head. “Had a hard time sleeping, that’s all.”
“You miss your roommate,” Kendall said with a wink.
I did. I missed her a lot.
“I shaved like ten minutes off my morning routine since I didn’t have to wake up a certain someone,” I joked, winking back.
“Ha,” Jared said. “It is hard to wake you up.”
“I have no idea what either of you are talking about,” Kendall said, clearly delighted.
I was glad she was happy. But my heart still went out to her for losing her magic.
Kendall was a legacy at Primrose. Her whole life had been spent preparing her to be a witch. She hadn’t told her parents, or the teachers about her situation yet. We weren’t really sure what would happen when she did. She would probably be sent packing from school.
It would mean she’d be able to spend more time with Jared, but I couldn’t really see her hanging around his place all day, and letting go of school so easily,
when the rest of us were still here every day.
But with everything that was going on with everyone’s magic at school since the return of the Raven King, she might just be able to skate under the radar for a while more. Magic had become a bit chaotic, to put it mildly. A lot of witches were holding back after casting with some unpredictable results. For now, Kendall just seemed like one more reluctant student among many.
But that wouldn’t last forever.
“Rumor has it that they’re going to start canceling classes,” Cori said, as if reading my mind. “The magic is getting too erratic.”
“They would never do that,” Bella said worriedly. “Right now is when we need our teachers the most.”
“In Professor Waita’s class, Nuria’s Venus flytrap almost ate Dozie,” Cori said.
“Explain to me how that would have been a bad thing,” Bella grumbled.
My eyes went straight to Kendall. Dozie had been one of her legacy friends at the beginning of school, though she mostly hung out with us now. Dozie had always been one of the meaner legacy girls, but that didn’t mean Kendall would want to hear her trash-talked.
But Kendall was chuckling sympathetically. She had changed so much.